The Ruby Blade: Chapter 2

Read the Prologue/Chapter One here

Chapter Two

After years spent in near blissful isolation deep within the Canadian Mountains of Francois Village, living amongst Des and many other amazing people, Dustin thought he was ready to venture out into the world. How wrong he was. The moment he and Des entered the apartment complex, climbed crusted industrial carpeted stairs and unlocked the third door on the third floor, Dustin knew he wasn’t ready. Not at all.

Deadbolt slid open, and the two opened the door to an apartment smelling of beer and pizza. His nerves prickled and he almost shut down. Almost turned to run and flee. Almost. A strong, encouraging nudge from Des gathered Dustin’s senses and he passed the threshold.

They entered an open living area with a cramped kitchen and circular table adjoined to a stained carpeted living area with black, split leather couches and two windows shut up with yellow vinyl blinds. Boxes covered every surface except against the far wall where a large smart TV sat atop an entertainment center already playing some sports talk show. Despite the TV going, hip-hop blasted from a Bluetooth speaker on the kitchen counter end and three young men sat at the table lounging and laughing with the culprit beers and pizza in hand.

“Hey, our mystery roommate has arrived,” said one with a chiseled jawline and charismatic smile. He had slicked hair and wore a light pink polo shirt. “Nice to meet you. I’m Steven.”

“I’m Jordan,” the second chipped in. Sitting next to him was another with mimicked slicked hair and a cream-yellow polo shirt guy, but he was more stocky and had cauliflower ears and a 5-o-clock shadow. “Bold for coming in so late. What’s your name?”

“Dustin,” Dustin said.

“Sweet. You’ll have to excuse the mess. Well, I’ll be honest, even after we finish unpacking, it’s still going to be messy. But I promise we’re not disgusting.”

Dustin forced back a sigh and nodded.

“Oh, and I’m Jason,” said the final guy. He wore a tank top, basketball shorts, sandals, and a cap. He leaned back in his chair against the wall with thick arms supporting his head. Next to his beer can was a nearly drained protein shake.

“Are you new to Evergrey, or just switching apartments?” Steven asked.

“New. I guess. Freshman.”

“Cool. We’ll be nice to you. Don’t worry, sir,” Steven said grinning at Des. “We have a strict no-hazing policy in this apartment. Pranks, however, I can’t speak for myself.”

“I’d rather stay out of it all,” Dustin blurted out. He cringed but Steven rolled through it.

“We’ll go easy on you.”

“Don’t worry, he’s used to it,” Des said cheerfully.

“Did you move here because it was cheapest as well?” Steven asked.

Dustin nodded with no direct reply.

“Us, too. We actually rented out a more expensive place near downtown, but the dude who owned the place got serious with his girlfriend and kicked us all out. Entire empty basement and all. Anyways, the five of us all moved over here since it was cheap. Kinda sucks, it's so close to Southern Evergrey, but I think we’ll be fine.”

“Ghouls are pretty much gone anyways,” Jordan added.

“Is it just you three or are there others, too?” Des asked. Dustin only stood, awkward and not sure what to do or say. He only had a box in his arms and a sloppy, nervous grin on his face.

“Nah, there are others. Vick and I are down in the single rooms to the right.” Jason pointed down a hallway. “Vick was at the gym late so crashed at a friend’s. You’ll meet that weirdo tomorrow.”

“There’s also Erick,” Steven continued, “You share with him. He’s alright. He just joined Delta Sigma Phi here and got a girlfriend. He’s almost always over there. You might meet her, but she’s kind of, oh, how do I say it—”

“—A snob,” Jordan suggested.

Steven shrugged. “Rich and privileged. Lives in a nice place close to where we were at. I wouldn’t be surprised if Erick never shows up. You basically got a single room for the price of shared. He’s nice, but can be a little bit gossipy.”

Gossipy was the one thing Dustin didn’t need to hear.

“If you need anything just let us know. Bathroom has four drawers. You can pick one for your stuff. Kitchen. Find a cabinet, fridge space. House rules go as such: your sh—“ he glanced at Des, “—crap your duty. You don’t want to clean your dishes, then they are either in your cupboard or on your bed. We share pots, pans, and cooking stuff. That can’t be left in the sink for more than a day.”

“Dishes are like your partner,” Jordan said. “Your roommates shouldn’t be doing them.”

“Ah,” Des said with raised eyebrows. “Clever.”

“Oh, sorry. Don’t get the wrong impression, sir. We try to run a tight ship here.”

“No offense, but you two look nothing alike. You must’ve gotten the not-burly-gene,” Jason said, nodding from scruffy Des to spindly Dustin.

“I’m,” Dustin hesitated and looked at Des. Des shrugged, so Dustin continued. “I’m adopted, actually.”

“Oh, well. That’s cool. Where you from?”

“Canada.”

“Whoa,” and the conversation derailed into what likely every Canadian faced in the United States. Do they use ‘eh’ at the end of their sentences? Do they speak French—which Des actually did—and was it true they drank only beer, said Hoser, and many other et cetera inquiries. But of course, the conversation fell back on what on Earth brought Dustin to Evergrey of all places. His default answer, scholarship and cheap tuition, all could agree on.

“Are there no cheap colleges in Canada?” Steven asked.

“Yeah, but I wanted to come to America,” Dustin added. That left it well there.

“Well, we’re glad to have ya, Dustin. Let’s try to get cool with each other. We’ve a few days to settle in and a wild weekend to play before school starts. Evergrey isn’t so bad a place once you get into the flow and know where to look for fun. We know where all that is. Stick by us and you’ll be alright,” Steven grinned.

“You should come with us to the gym tomorrow morning,” Jason said, who during all the talk had taken a selfie of him flexing his post-workout swell.

“I think I’ll be alright,” Dustin said.

“Don’t mind him,” Steven said. “Jason’s all iron no brains.”

“Haha, wanna wrestle over that.”

“Also always his conflict resolution.”

Jason scowled.

Dustin nodded, now numb from all the overwhelming social beats he failed to catch.

“It was nice to meet you, we’re going to keep hauling things in,” Des said, seeming to sense Dustin’s near mental collapse.

The three looked at the darkening night. “Need help?” Steven asked.

“Seriously?” Jordan asked.

“A few trips will help them out. Speed things up, too. It’s not like we’re going for a walk in the south.” Steven punched Jason. “Put those bad boys to use again.”

“Already tired from arm-day, but I see your point,” Jason shrugged.

In a few short minutes, everything was piled in Dustin’s room. The room was wide with two twin mattresses on each end and a long two-chair desk between. Adjoined wardrobe closet sat on the opposite wall. They shut the door and let the three roommates go back to their evening pizza. Unpacking didn’t take long. They unloaded a few books, an alarm clock, notebooks, pencils, and study supplies. Dustin’s wardrobe was bland. Des tried to encourage him to find more clothing, but for now, Dustin only had button-ups—most of them white, a few raggedy jeans, and two pairs of hand-me-down shoes. In little time Dustin’s food was unloaded in which Des took a pen and wrote Dustin’s name on everything.

“Protect your food,” he said and slipped the marker into Dustin’s shirt pocket.

“Especially against, Vick,” Jordan chimed in from the cleared-off couch.

Moving completed, and the outside consumed in darkness, the two retired for the night. Des unrolled a sleeping pad and bag and lay on the floor next to Dustin’s bed. Dustin collapsed, exhausted on the new semi-comfortable bed. The provided mattress was a lumpy mass, he was grateful for the pad and mattress cover the Gonders had gifted him.

Before falling asleep, despite his fatigue, Dusting stared up at the ceiling. The heater hummed and labored to fight off the cold outside. Rain pattered against the windows. For the last five years, he’d slept with walls and a roof overhead. He feared he’d be back to sleeping under cellars, strange rooms, shelter tents, caves, foliage, or the open sky. How long would this one last?

“Quite the place you’ve moved to,” Des mused from the floor.

“Am I moving too fast?” Dustin asked, shivering despite the heater, the blankets from Oma and Opa, and the warmer pajamas that used to be Tom Gonder’s.

Des lay quiet a moment then said, “No, not at all. If anything, Hell hasn’t made any move, except for that Alaska incident, but that was someone bugging a ghoul nest. Take your time Dustin. Do college. The real work can start later.”

Dustin nodded. Des soon passed into his normal snoring fits and Dustin remained awake a little longer. The real work. Sure Dustin wanted nothing more than a normal life. Come to college. Learn. Graduate. Find a job. Maybe… just maybe even love. But as long as Hell remained, there’d always be fear. Always be danger.

With these thoughts, trying to calm the building panic with deep breaths, Dustin finally passed into a fitful sleep. The usual nightmares didn’t bother him, but he did wake a few times to the wind howling, torturing trees, and rattling windows. A wind that howled like the dying.